I'm an expatriate from Jordan working in Saudi Arabia. I'd been an athletic guy before, playing basketball and football/soccer up until a few short years ago, and I'd skated on ice skates a few times when I was a bit younger. I got the idea of getting into inline skating a few months ago, and fell in love with freestyle slalom after reading about it and watching some vids on youtube. At the moment I'm still in the research phase and haven't purchased any skates, mostly because there are no shops selling slalom/freeskates here. My purchasing will have to be done online, unfortunately. I've been lurking on this forum for a while, looking for specific tips on good slalom/street skates, and see that this community is very friendly, helpful, and informative. I hope that, in time, as my skating develops I will be able to give back some help and information.